PM Edi Rama said that he doesn’t expect that the EU summit that will take place next week will pave the way for Albania’s accession negotiations and the one to blame for this is Bulgaria.
In an interview for Politico.eu, Rama said that all EU governments have agreed since March 2020 that both Albania and North Macedonia would be given the green light to start their accession negotiations. However, according to him negotiations didn’t start because Bulgaria insisted on solving its historical disputes with North Macedonia first which involve the Bulgarian government’s claims on Macedonian language, identity and their shared history.
Even though Sofia’s blockade is only valid for North Macedonia, the EU has favored the treatment of accession offers for Albania and North Macedonia as a single package which is why Albania will now have to suffer the consequences of these disputes.
The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Bulgaria last week in an effort to overcome Sofia’s blockade before the Brussels Summit which is set to take place next Thursday and Friday but in his interview for Politico.eu, Rama made it clear that he was pessimistic that this meeting had achieved any positive results.
“I don’t have any expectations. I believe nothing will happen. Albania and North Macedonia won’t officially open up negotiations,” he said.
